#goodroidtips II. - Tips & tricks for Android developers

If you have missed my previous #goodroidtips you can check it out here: #goodroidtips I. - Tips and tricks for Android developers

👀 News in Android studio : Database inspector!🔍

If you are developing applications that use data storage in the form of SQLite database (Jetpack Room or pure SQLite), it is necessary to download database files from the device during debugging and read or edit them in an external editor. 🔽

Database Inspector tool has been introduced in the latest stable version of Android Studio, which is able to establish a live connection to the database. It allows to read data from a database, write values or even run SQL queries.

This tool will rapidly accelerate the development of persistent data applications using SQLite databases.

Will you use it? Will it make your job easier too? Let me know! 🙂

🔎 COROUTINES DEBUGGER 🔍

Coroutines are a great tool to facilitate asynchronous programming.  However, when writing them, the developer often comes across a problem how to debug them when breakpoints do not work. Until now, it was necessary to rely on code logging in this case. However, new Kotlin brought a more elegant solution - Coroutines Debugger. 🚀

Coroutines tab has been added to the classic debug window, under which you will find information about currently running or suspended coroutines and their local variables.

Smart right? Will it make your job easier? 🤔

🥂 What requirements will the year 2021 bring to applications in the Google Play Store?🥂

The year 2021 is coming, and with it also news related to the requirements for applications uploaded to the Google Play Store.

✅ From August 2021, all new apps uploaded to the Google Play Store will need to support the Android App Bundle.  The advantage of AAB is the smaller size of the application in the Play Store.

✅ Furthermore, the application must target at least API level 30.

✅ The application can not use OBB extensions, as this feature will no longer be supported and will be replaced by Play Asset Delivery.

✅ From November 2021, it will be necessary for each application update to target at least API level 30, ie Android 11.

What are you thinking about the new requirements?

👀 Kotlin (1.4.20) 👀

The new version of Kotlin (1.4.20) has brought several changes related to Kotlin Android Extensions. Extensions gave developers the ability to reduce unnecessary code using Kotlin Synthetics or Generator of Parcelable Implementation. In the new version, the creators of Kotlin decided to stop supporting Kotlin Synthetics in favor of ViewBinding and moved Generator od Parcelable implementation to a separate plugin.

How do you feel about these changes? 🤷‍♂️

📚 Coil version 1.0 is here! 📚

Coil is a library built on Kotlin Coroutines that makes it easy to load images from the Internet, automatically providing downsampling or caching. It is now coming with version 1.0. 🎉 Its big advantage is that it is very small. The coil is designed to integrate with the UI toolkit Jetpack Compose. At GoodRequest, we use Coil on several projects, which suits us especially for its ease of use and the number of functions it provides.

Have you got any experience too?

🎁 New features in Constraint Layout 🎁

The latest alpha version of Constraint Layout has brought some interesting features:

Carousel - Motion helper, which allows you to create carousel views with integrated animations when switching between elements.

ConstraintOverride - In the motion scene, it will only be possible to override the parameters we want to animate.

ViewTransition - Animate a single view without using Motion Layout. Quantized motion - Animation can be divided into n steps.

What do you think about them? Can you find your favorite among them?

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